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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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No faults with Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers Hall Green Little Theatre **** IT MUST be quite a satisfying feeling as
a writer to have penned a work that is firstly rejected by the lofty
controllers of the BBC as a `clichéd disaster' and also panned by the
critics of its time as predictable, only for it to become viewed years
later, as one of the best TV programmes of all time. But that's what John Cleese and Connie Booth can feel proud of with Fawlty Towers and how the legacy of those just 12 episodes are now viewed today since their first creation in 1975. It was Jimmy Gilbert, the then head of the BBCs light entertainment, who said, 'You're going to have to get them out of the hotel, John, you can't do the whole thing in the hotel.' In fact it was somewhat short-sighted as many of
the most successful comedies of the time like Rising Damp
It is that location simplicity that has enabled
an `on stage' resurrection of the Fawlty Towers scripts in recent years
making them a firm favourite of amateur companies across the country. The Hall Green Little Theatre company are no
exception with this current production and have managed to shoe horn
three of the most popular programmes into a comprehensive and very funny
play.
James Weetman takes on the exhausting task of
Basil Fawlty and his confident and well-timed performance led the whole
cast forward in creating a great deal of company confidence. The young Callum Davies was the much berated
waiter Manuel and both he and Weetman underwent a great deal of physical
comedy both creating very faithful representations of the original TV
Characters. Linda Neale plays Sybil, Basil's snooty wife and
again managed to create her voice and mannerisms to perfection including
Sybil's cutting laugh while Samantha Holden did a fine job as Polly who
works to hold the entire sinking ship together and also sounded fluent
in both German and Spanish on a couple of occasions. Steve parsons played the bumbling Major and drew
a welcome round of applause during one complex dialogue interchange with
Fawlty and his daft conversation with the moose. The play is very well directed by Jean Wilde and
together with a great supporting cast created an evening of rich
entertainment and to do so overcame a great many production
difficulties. At times it was difficult to hear some of the
lines due to the laughter but that's a good thing and unlike the service
in the hotel, the play never fell apart once or was ever lacking in
quality. To 21-09-13. Jeff Grant |
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are
nothing more than just one or two room situations.